I, Marisa
by Ink and tea-leaves
Summary: "And your Mother, she was passionate too. Not so well born as him, but a clever woman. A scholar even, and those who saw her said she was very beautiful." - John Faa, Northern Lights. Marisa Coulter's story, her untold childhood. More inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey all!**

**This is based on and expanded from a short description of Marisa Coulter by John Faa in **_**Northern Lights**_**; **

"_**And your Mother, she was passionate too. Not so well born as him, but a clever woman. A scholar even, and those who saw her said she was very beautiful."**_

**No more is said about Mrs Coulter's past, except that she married for power, so I've invented this past for her.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Star x**

**Note: As no indication is ever given in the books of Edward Coulter's dæmon's shape, I've gone ahead and given his the shape of a fox, technically a Falkland Islands Wolf or Arctic Wolf.**

The two men talked in low voices, keen not to be overheard. They sat with their backs to the snow falling outside the window, facing the fire in the grand office, sipping Tokay.

"And you're sure she's the one? You're not possibly mistaken?" asked the elder of the two.

"Not at all. The Magesterium have confirmed it."

"The Alethiometer?"

"Naturally, although they did mention their doubts."

"Well, doubts be damned, if she's the one then she must be taught." He placed his glass of Tokay on the low table beside him, the amber liquid swirling around inside the little crystal glass. His dæmon, a large, wolf-like fox with a reddish pelt stood up from her position at the hearth and stretched. The older man looked at her, and sighed resignedly.

"Very well, let's get this thing over with." He stood, and his raven dæmon flew to his shoulder from her perch on the back of his chair.

Both men left the room by way of an oak door that lead onto a richly carpeted corridor. A servant came in to attend to the room as they left.

The men strode swiftly down the corridor, neither saying much to the other, both as keen as the other to reach their destination. Eventually they came to an inconspicuous plain wooden door set a little back into the wall. The younger man would have passed it by without pausing, but the elder stopped and turned the handle. Despite appearances, the door swung open with ease on well oiled hinges, into a darkened room lit only by soft naphtha lamps placed on the sideboard. Rows of beds occupied by child-sized sleeping figures ran down the length of the long room.

"These are they? Your... wards?" asked the younger man, coming in behind his companion.

"Yes, and mighty lucky they are too."

The other said nothing, but his expression, had there been enough light to see it by, suggested that he thought otherwise.

They moved off, picking their way around the beds, and stopped by a non-descript bed, hardly any different from the rest; white, covered in white sheets, with one sleeping figure and dæmon occupying it. A grey skirt and white blouse hung tidily over the end of the bed, and a black pair of shoes was placed neatly at its foot.

"And this is her? The girl all the fuss is being made about?"

"This is her."

And Marisa turned over in her sleep, her currently cat shaped dæmon curled up tight in her protective arms, and Edward Coulter watched over her, looking at the girl who was to become his lover and wife.

**Ta da, first chapter! Please review, constructive critisism appreciated, but no utter burns, thanks.**

**Second chapter coming soon!**

**:-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to **_**FlyingPurplePony **_**for my first review and to you other folk still reading! Okay, here comes chapter two! Enjoy!**

**(Ps, the name **_**Ozymandias **_**is given to the golden monkey in the radio series of Northern Lights, but not used in the book as the monkey is never named.)**

"What do you think they want from us Ozymandias?" The girl and dæmon were sitting on their bed in the large dormitory, she holding a silver-backed hand-mirror while he did her hair.

"I don't know any more than you do Marisa, but it can't be a cup of tea and cake. D'you know, a zeppelin landed last night." Marisa sat up straighter, and looked around sharply, jerking her hair out of her dæmon's dainty hands. He was currently a graceful, light-brown monkey with quick, nimble hands so as to brush her hair for her.

"Ow Oz! But you saw? How?" she asked, rubbing the sore spot on her scalp.

"Freddie's dæmon saw it land; they were playing outside, and she was a sparrow and saw. She's a gossiping little thing, she told me." Marisa nodded; it was true, and she wouldn't have paid much attention to Ozymandias's conversation with Freddie's dæmon.

"Well, whoever it was in that zeppelin must've been important, 'cos there was a big commotion in the kitchens last night, and it must've been about that."

A head popped round the door, and said

"Marisa? Lord Bosworth will see you now."

Marisa leapt to her feet, straightening out her skirt nervously, and Ozymandias fluttered to her shoulder in the form of a robin, then became an ermine and wound himself around her neck, before becoming a innocent, obedient puppy and trotting along beside her.

The nurse led them along a richly carpeted corridor, with plush red velvet curtains on full length windows, and Ozymandias became a small monkey just to go over and touch the soft fabric. The pair of them gazed about them in wonder, taking in every detail.

"I didn't know you could have this much velvet Oz..." murmured Marisa softly.

The nurse stopped beside an oak door set a little back for privacy, and her Labrador dæmon stood respectfully aside to let them pass.

"Knock" commanded the Nurse, and Marisa did so, tapping nervously on the door twice before standing back as the door swung open from the inside.

Lord Bosworth was a gentle man, but many years working for the Magesterium had given him a reputation, and a somewhat fierce look about him which his tall, bearded form did nothing to diminish. His raven dæmon was perched on his shoulder, and she regarded Marisa and Ozymandias with beetle black eyes which made them feel like shrinking into the velvet carpet.

"Well you'd better come in child" he said gently, and Marisa, after a nod from the nurse, stepped into the study, pulling the door softly shut behind her.

"Sit down, sit down" urged Lord Bosworth, leading her over to the desk and indicating the seat. He himself sat down in the other chair, facing Marisa, and began pouring out Tokay.

"A drink my dear?" he asked. Marisa shook her head. "But no, you're too young to appreciate adult tastes. Would you like some juice?" Marisa shook her head again mutely, and he laughed.

"You're a quiet one, aren't you my dear? No matter, no matter, things will proceed as planned" he murmured, almost to himself. "This is Sir Coulter, child, here from the University of St George in Oxford" he said, and for the first time Marisa noticed the man standing by the fireplace. He was tall, with an air of impatience about him that was re-enforced by his dark blue, almost black eyes and tall, imposing figure. He was not a man you would have liked to meet down a dark London alleyway at night, and as he came forward to shake her hand, Marisa felt shivers run down her spine that the elder girls in the dormitory said happened when someone walked over your grave.

"Pleased to meet you sir" she said timidly, and looked up into those eyes to find them staring directly back into hers.

"Sir Coulter here has just arrived from Oxford last night, with an extraordinary proposition" said Lord Bosworth, breaking into her thoughts. "Can you guess what it is?" Another head shake.

"He has offered to take one child to Oxford with him when he leaves, as a sort of... assistant, or ward, to aid him in his work. It will be rather dull, I'm afraid, just taking notes and running errand and such like, but I have volunteered you as a candidate Marisa. Nurse Talia tells me that you are able in sewing and housework, and your tutors agree that you can read and write fairly well in both English and a little Latin. We have taught you children well, haven't we?" he said fondly, with the air of one congratulating ones self on a job well done. Marisa said nothing, but Ozymandias became a small bird and fluttered nervously around her head, betraying her emotions. Neither men took any notice.

"So you will be leaving tomorrow Marisa, and taking the morning Zeppelin to Oxford" said Lord Bosworth, and Marisa was shocked into speaking.

"Tomorrow? But Sir, my things, my school work..?"

"Never fear child" he laughed, "you're belongings will be packed for you, and after all, you will be getting new clothes when you are there, for I daresay your current school clothes are a little small for you now.

"You will be getting new, smart clothes when we arrive at Oxford, and an education the like of which no child has ever seen before" said Sir Coulter, and Marisa realised that it was the first time she had heard him speak. His voice was much lighter than his stature would have suggested, and Marisa took a moment to realise that it was he who had spoken.

"You will be educated in one of the greatest Universities of the day" he continued "and have other... supplements... which your peers will not. I hope that you will not abuse the privilege."

"I won't Sir, I swear it" promised Marisa, and Lord Bosworth laughed and told her that she was a good girl, and, after a painfully slow half an hour in which she was peppered with questions about her life, her school work and her friends, which she answered almost monosyllabically, she was whisked off by the nurse with the Labrador dæmon for a bath and dinner, amid much threatening, cajoling and reminding about what would happen in Oxford if she put one toe out of line.

By the time she and Ozymandias finally collapsed onto their bed that evening, she was ready to drop, and she was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow. She did not know that her future husband snuck back into her dorm when she was asleep, and spent another evening gazing at the little girl who tossed and turned in her sleep, dreaming about mysterious gentlemen with fox-shaped dæmons, while the real one sat at her bed side, deep in thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter! I know I've been ages in writing it, so thanks for waiting. But anyway, here it is! Happy reading! Stars x**

It is a shocking and scary thing to have one's life torn away at the whim of a man, but none of the men who handled Marisa ever considered this. Some tut-tutted that a child was being brought to Oxford, some congratulated Sir Coulter at his fine find, but none considered the little girl wrapped in furs and shivering from the cold as anything more than a pretty puppet. Ozymandias wasn't helping either; he'd been a puppy from almost the day they'd arrived, staring at everything with wide-eyed awe and anticipation.

The ship had landed in early afternoon, and girl and dæmon had been whisked off the zeppelin to a coach, which had trundled along a dirt road, delivered them to a big, grand collage which looked almost as old as the hills, where they had been snatched up by a big, loud woman who smelt of dough and wood-smoke and informed them severely that Sir Coulter was not to be disturbed for anything or any reason, and that any problems were to be taken to Ma Tenifal as she introduced herself.

Ma Tenifal showed her to her room, with many exclamations over Marisa's messy hair, Marisa's tatty old coat and most of all, Marisa's luck and cheek in acquiring such a honourable guardian.

"_Sir _Coulter is not to be disturbed for _anything_" she said for the third or fourth time, stressing the word '_Sir' _in case Marisa may forget who was looking after her. "_Nothing_" she emphasised, as she opened the door to Marisa's room.

Marisa stepped in... and gasped. Her room had once been a spare study of sir Coulter's, but in preparation for her arrival the desk had been removed and the boxes of papers piled on top of each other in the corner to make space for a small bed that seemed to fit in the room more by illusion than fact. The room was long, tiny and cramped, no more than 6 meters by 3 meters, with a faded, once rich green carpet covering the floor. Marisa saw all this, but didn't care, for it was the window that held her entire attention. It was at the far end of the room, and when Marisa dashed across she had to stand on tiptoes to even see over the rim. But what she saw took her breath away; from her tiny window in her tiny room, way up high in a grand old building, she could see over all of Oxford. The churches, collages and libraries built from creamy white stone, the alleyways bustling with street urchins and the barges moving up and down the rivers and canals all entranced her and glued her to the window.

"I'll be downstairs in the kitchen if you need me" said the irritable voice of Ma Tenifal, but Marisa barely heard her. The window held her captive, and she couldn't have drawn away if all her old school friends had burst into the room demanding that she return to London.

**Tada! Sorry if its a bit short, I wanted to get it on asap. Hope you enjoyed it! **


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